Mar 17, 2014

Keeping things green today in the spirit of St Patrick's Day! Cream of asparagus is one of my favorite Spring soups. The addition of leeks, a relative of onions, scallions and shallots gives this soup a wonderful subtle flavor. But the star here is a touch of creme fraiche added on top, which I like to swirl in to my soup for a creamy delicious finish.

My daughter Madison loves helping me in the kitchen, here I let her snap off the tough ends of the asparagus – she's a pro!

Creme fraiche is wonderfully creamy, and a bit thinner than sour cream. If that's not available near you can swap it for sour cream or even Greek yogurt. If you want to go dairy-free, you can of course leave it out, it will still taste wonderful. Enjoy!

In a large heavy pot, melt better over medium-low heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute, or until fragrant.

Chop the asparagus into 2-inch pieces. Add to the pot with the leeks. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cover and cook about 20-25 minutes or until asparagus is very tender. Remove from heat and puree until smooth with a blender. Adjust salt and pepper, to taste.

To serve, divide in 5 bowls and spoon in 1 teaspoon Creme Fraiche and chives for garnish.

Looks delicious! The beginning of the post mentions the addition of shallots and scallions, although I don't see them in the recipe. Would you mind adding in the quantities for those? Thanks very much!

If people want to make their own it's the easiest thing ever to make creme fraiche! I get cultures from http://www.culturesforhealth.com/starter-cultures/other-starter-cultures.html (no i don't work for them haha) and it's so easy! and delish! in fact i was thrilled to see this recipe because i usually have more creme fraiche than i know what to do with- so i use it to make ranch dip. Thanks!

Okay, I made this the other day and it was delicious! No crème fraiche in my grocery store (that I could find) and though I bought sour cream, we didn't use any. We used the immersion blender to blend it all up and it works perfectly. I did good the asparagus for a little longer than suggested (maybe 5 minutes) because I really wanted the immersion blender to work without leaving stringy pieces behind. It was great though!

Just made it tonight and it is divine! Next time I'll go a little easier on the garlic, I put too much because I like garlic. But wow!! Thank you for this recipe, it is definitely a keeper. Cheers from North Carolina

Made this last night...I wasn't sure if I would really like this but had to try this because of its simplicity. The taste was amazing!!!! I can't believe that a few ingredients can turn up such a great soup. This will definitely be made again.

This soup was so good! Got my asparagus on sale for 99 cents a lb which made iteven better. Thanks so much for all the tasty recipes. I do the fast diet and i can always count on your site for wonderful low calorie dinners!!! Your soups are always amazing.